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Published: December 1st 2011
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Day 13 - Day 12 of tour
Jinja is known as for it's adventure activities such as bungee jumping, quad biking and white water rafting. We signed up for a half day of white water rafting on the Nile and then a boat tour of the source of the Nile.
There was a 1 hour delay for white water rafing due to a breakdown of one of the trucks used to haul the rafts. Also, they have recently constructed a dam, so this meant an additional 2 hour driving time to/from the starting/ending point. Before the dam, the rafting would start at the campsite (Adrift).
They provided a breakfast of sausages and hardboiled eggs on a skewer and then broke us up into groups of 8 per raft. There were 4 rapids and lots of flat water. On the last rapid, we were given a choice of taking the class 3, 4 or 5 route, and we all hesitantly chose the class 5 route. Ezio thought we would never ask for the class 5 route since "it was a boat of little girls" (well, except for himself and one other guy)! We were instructed by the guide to
get down, throw away our oars and if we flip, we will be underwater, and we should count to 5 while under water, and trust that you will emerge to the surface.
Apparently, 97% of the time the raft flips on this rapid... and we were not the exception to this rule.
We flipped! We threw away the oars, ducked down, the boat flipped and we let go. Everything happened so fast. I recall hitting the water and feeling like I was in a washing machine being churned around several times. I counted to 5...said to myself, "don't panic"...then 6..."don't panic"...then 7..."stay calm"...then..."shit, my bikini bottom is falling off"..."hold on to it"..."don't panic"..."the guide is wrong, this is much more than 5 seconds"...
Then finally to the surface and before I could get a breath, a wave would hit me and it would be wave after wave, and trying to get some air before the next wave. I could see one of the kayakers heading for me but I kept getting hit by the waves. Finally, he reached me and it was such a relief as he brought me to the rescue boat.
But where was Ezio?!? Don't panic! He was fine, and was the furthest away and with another kayaker.
We went back on our raft and then paddled to the shore to eat lunch. Since Ezio and I had booked a half day trip, we hopped back on the shuttle but were delayed by a bunch of very rude paddlers that wanted to take full advantage of drinking as much free beer and eating as much food as possible...and to add insult to injury, they asked to be dropped off first although their hotel was farther.
My personal recommendation: bypass Jinja. The campsite is beautiful as it overlooks the Nile, but the rafting is overpriced at $115 for a half day and $125 for a full day. There is too much flat water and not enough white water. I feel that Jinja is an expensive tourist trap. I don't regret doing it but I think there are better places to white water raft.
BTW, we may have bilharzia...stupid? Maybe!
We didn't go on the Source of The Nile boat ride since we could not find the minimum 4 people required.
It rained heavily that night.
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